Sherman Alexie
| birth_place = Wellpinit, Washington | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Poet, Short-Story Writer, Novelist, Screenwriter, Filmmaker | nationality = Spokane/Coeur d'Alene/American | genre = Native American literature, Humor, Documentary fiction | movement = Indigenous Nationalism | influences = | influenced = | notableworks = The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Smoke Signals (film) | awards = American Book Award, National Book Award, PEN/Hemingway, PEN/Faulkner}} Sherman Joseph Alexie, Jr. (born October 7, 1966) is a Native American poet, prose writer, filmmaker, and occasional comedian. Life Alexie was born on October 7, 1966 in the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington. He was born with hydrocephalus, which caused him to suffer from seizures throughout his childhood. Alexie made the conscious decision to leave his reservation and attend Reardan High School in Reardan, where he knew he would receive a better education.Official Sherman Alexie website In 1985, Alexie enrolled at Gonzaga University on a scholarship. In 1987, he transferred to Washington State University (WSU), where he fell under the influence of Alexander Kuo. Kuo inspired Alexie to write poetry, and soon after graduating, Alexie published his first collection of poems, The Business of Fancy Dancing, through Hanging Loose Press. In 2005, Alexie became a founding Board Member of Longhouse Media, a non-profit organization that is committed to teaching filmmaking skills to Native American youth, and to use media for cultural expression and social change. Mr. Alexie has long supported youth programs and initiatives dedicated to uplifting at-risk Native youth.http://www.longhousemedia.org/about.html Two of Alexie's best known works are The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1994), a book of short stories and Smoke Signals, a film. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a semi-autobiographical young adult novel for which he won a 2007 National Book Awardhttp://www.nationalbook.org/nba2007_ypl_alexie_interv.html "2007 National Book Award Young People's Literature Winner: Interview With Sherman Alexie", interview by Rita Williams-Garcia, was his latest commercial success. Alexie is married to Diane Tomhave, who is of Hidatsa, Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi heritage. They live in Seattle with their 2 sons. Basketball Alexie is also noted for his love of basketball, both as an audience member and a player. He was a loyal and enthusiastic supporter of the now relocated Seattle SuperSonics. His writings on the sport are frequently cited by notable basketball writers, such as ESPN's Henry Abbott. Prior to the SuperSonics' relocation, the City of Seattle filed a lawsuit against the team's ownership group headed by businessman Clayton Bennett in an attempt to force the team to play out the remainder of its lease (which was to expire in 2010) in Seattle's KeyArena. Alexie testified in favor of the city, stressing the importance of the Sonics to Seattle's culture and community, as well as to individual fans - an experience that he would later describe as the "most terrifying and stressful public speaking gig I've ever had to endure." However, the City of Seattle settled with the ownership group, permitting the team to break its lease and move to Oklahoma City for the following season, in exchange for a multi-million dollar cash settlement. Despite the personal and communal loss, Alexie retains his love for the game, and continues to follow professional basketball passionately. Writing 2 of Alexie's best known works are The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1994), a book of short stories and Smoke Signals, a film. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a semi-autobiographical young adult novel for which he won a 2007 National Book Awardhttp://www.nationalbook.org/nba2007_ypl_alexie_interv.html "2007 National Book Award Young People's Literature Winner: Interview With Sherman Alexie", interview by Rita Williams-Garcia, was his latest commercial success."In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders" article by Eric Konigsberg in The New York Times October 20, 2009 Alexie's stories have been included in several prestigious short story anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories 2004, edited by Lorrie Moore; and Pushcart Prize XXIX of the Small Presses. Additionally, a number of his pieces have been published in various literary magazines and journals, as well as online publications. Recognition Awards *1992: National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship *The New York Times Book Review Notable book of the Year for The Business of Fancydancing *1996: Before Columbus Foundation: American Book Award *Granta Magazine: Twenty Best American Novelists Under the Age of 40 *New York Times Notable Book for Indian Killer *People Magazine: Best of Pages *1999: The New Yorker: 20 Writers for the 21st Century *2007: National Book Award prize for Young People's literature for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian *2010: PEN/Faulkner Award for War Dances http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/23/AR2010032301846.html *2010: Native Writers' Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award *2010: recipient of the Puterbaugh " award, the first American Puterbaugh fellow *2010: California Young Reader Medal for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Publications Poetry *''The Business of Fancydancing: Stories and poems''. Brooklyn, NY: Hanging Loose, 1992. *''I Would Steal Horses''. Niagara Falls, NY: Slipstream, 1992. *''Old Shirts and New Skins''. Los Angeles, CA: American Indian Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles, 1993. *''First Indian on the Moon''. Brooklyn, NY: Hanging Loose, 1993. *''Seven Mourning Songs For the Cedar Flute I Have Yet to Learn to Play'' (1993) *''Water Flowing Home: Poems''. Boise, ID: Limberlost, 1995. *''The Summer of Black Widows''. Brooklyn, NY: Hanging Loose, 1996. *''The Man Who Loves Salmon''. Boise, Id: Limberlost, 1998. *''One Stick Song''. Brooklyn, NY: Hanging Loose, 2000. *''Dangerous Astronomy''. Boise, ID: Limberlost, 2005. *''Face''. Brooklyn, NY: Hanging Loose, 2009. *''What I've Stolen, What I've Earned''. Brooklyn, NY: Hanging Loose, 2014. Novels *''Reservation Blues''. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995. *''Indian Killer''. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1996. *''Flight: A novel''. New York: Black Cat, 2007. Short fiction *''The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven''. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1993. *''The Toughest Indian in the World''. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000. *''Ten Little Indians: Stories''. New York: Grove, 2003. *''War Dances''. New York: Grove, 2009. *''Blasphemy: New and selected stories''. New York: Grove, 2012. Juvenile *''The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian''. Boston: Little, Brown, 2007. Other *Nancy J. Peterson, Conversations with Sherman Alexie. Jackson, MI: University Press of Mississippi, 2009. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Sherman Alexie, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Apr. 18, 2014. Audio / video Films *'Smoke Signals'' (writer, 1998; adapted from a short story, "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" in Lone Ranger and Tonto) *''The Business of Fancydancing'' (writer and director, 2002) *''49?'' (writer, 2003) *''The Exiles'' (presenter, 2008) See also *Native American poets *List of U.S. poets References * Berglund, Jeff and Jan Roush, eds. Sherman Alexie: A Collection of Critical Essays, (2010) ISBN 978-1-60781-008-7 * Nygren, Åse. "A World of Story-Smoke: A Conversation with Sherman Alexie." MELUS 30.4 (Winter 2005): 149-169. * West, Dennis, and Joan M. West. "Sending Cinematic Smoke Signals: An Interview with Sherman Alexie". Cineaste 23.41998 29-33. Notes External links ;Poems *"Family Memoir" *Sherman Alexie profile & 3 poems at the Academy of American Poets. * Three poems by Sherman Alexie at Superstition Review *I Would Steal Horses (4 poems) * Sherman Alexie b. 1966 at the Poetry Foundation. *Sherman Alexie at PoemHunter (4 poems) ;Books *Sherman Alexie at Amazon.com ;Audio * Sherman Alexie at YouTube * OPB.org, Interview on Oregon Public Broadcasting radio show Think Out Loud (aired October 8, 2009) * Alexie, Sherman; Bill Clinton and Tom Lehrer. "A Dialogue on Race with President Clinton". News Hour (July 9, 1998). ;About * "The Poem That Made Sherman Alexie Want to 'Drop Everything and Be a Poet'", The Atlantic * Sherman Alexie (1966- ) at Modern American Poetry. * Fallsapart.com Sherman Alexie Official website. * * Identity Theory, Robert Capriccioso interviews Sherman Alexie * Iowa Review Joelle Fraser interviews Sherman Alexie * "In His Own Literary World, a Native Son Without Borders" article by Eric Konigsberg in The New York Times October 20, 2009 * Voice of the New Tribes article by Duncan Campbell in "The Guardian" January 3, 2003 *"'It Just Felt Very Wrong': Sherman Alexie's Accusers Go On The Record", NPR, 2018 . 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